The Merritt Transit System has two new buses in its fleet.
The new buses, which have new colouring in green and blue stripes, have about the same lifespan of five years.
The buses still have 20 seats — the same as the old ones — and can accommodate three wheelchairs at a time.
However, they include lowering ramps at the front door of the bus instead of the lift on the back for transit riders in wheelchairs or with mobility issues.
“The difference is they’re front-loaders. [Drivers] don’t have to get out and drop the lift on the back,” transit manager Jan Oswald said. “Wheelchair passengers can actually wheel themselves on from the front. That is good because it’s going to be a little faster in the winter. And there’s no steps, so even senior citizens with a walker can just walk themselves on. They don’t have to step up.”
The buses hit the road for the first time last Tuesday.
The two replacement buses were delayed by about a year because Merritt’s old buses were in such good shape, according to Oswald.
“They were supposed to be here a year ago. Everybody is ecstatic because everybody’s been anticipating them,” she said.
Oswald said BC Transit bumped replacing Merritt’s buses for about a year because they were in better shape than buses in other communities. She said one of the factors is the area Merritt transit serves is not as large as other centres.
“We didn’t put as many miles on them like some places do. That’s why our buses were in better shape,” she said.
Still, Oswald said she started to see evidence that the old buses were nearing the end of their five-year lifespan.
“In the last six months, we’ve had a lot of problems — mechanical problems,” she said. “Stuff was falling apart and starting to get costly.”
Funding for the area’s transit service is shared between the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, City of Merritt, BC Transit and Lower Nicola Indian Band. Transit serves Merritt and Lower Nicola and has operated in the area for six years.
